Korea 2016

The Korean Pavilion at the 15th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia will present The FAR Game: Constraints Sparking Creativity.

FAR (Floor Area Ratio) refers to the ratio of a building’s total floor area to the size of the piece of land upon which it is built.

The FAR Game, curated by Sung Hong Kim and presented by Arts Council Korea, will explore the challenges and achievements of contemporary Korean architecture, under these regulatory constraints, and will illustrate the struggle of architects in Seoul who strive to improve the residents’ quality of life by utilising space effectively.

Explaining the theme of this year’s Korean Pavilion, Curator Sung Hong Kim stated that “for the past 50 years, maximizing FAR has been the driving force behind the sustainable growth of Korean urban architecture, and remains to be the most challenging task for the majority of architects today”. In the midst of the ongoing tug of war between market demands and government regulations, Korean urban architects are consistently asked to come up with innovative solutions to overcome the constraints and satisfy three parties: landlords (customer) who want to maximize the floor area on the limited piece of land, government (regulator) that restricts and controls the ratios, and developers (supplier) who try to find best solutions to satisfy both sides. In response to the intensified need for more space in Korean urban structures, Kim and his team analyzed 600,000 buildings in Seoul to identify the problems and solutions in FAR regulations. Displaying 72 large models and blueprints of 36 buildings, the exhibition will highlight the experimental spirit of contemporary Korean architects and illustrate new designs for working class residences such as multifamily housing and mixed-use commercial and residential buildings. The FAR Game explores the potential of the city’s regeneration on a small scale and discusses the social and cultural implications of FAR in Korean urban architecture.

Exhibitors: Sung Hong Kim, Eungee Cinn, Keehyun Ahn, Seungbum KIM, Isak Chung, Daeun Jeong.